Berne police fired pellets on rowdy fans

GENEVA (Reuters) - Swiss police fired rubber pellets to deal with one violent group in Berne after Turkey knocked the host nation out of Euro 2008 but added on Thursday that generally the post-game incidents were “marginal”.

Police in the capital said 50,000 gathered in the city’s public viewing areas to watch Wednesday’s Group A 2-1 win for Turkey.

Officers had to step in to deal with rowdy fans who were provoking each other after the match and in one incident fired rubber pellets, they said.

Three people were injured and 25 taken into temporary custody, they said in a statement.

“The negative incidents last night were marginal considering the mass of people visiting Berne,” the statement said.

In Basel, where the match took place on Wednesday, more than 100,000 fans took to the streets, organisers estimated.

Police said 25 mostly drunken people were taken into temporary custody after the game and any flare-ups were quickly defused.

The Switzerland against Turkey fixture was considered a potential risk as the previous time the two teams played, in November 2005 in Istanbul, a brawl erupted between the players after the final whistle.

In Geneva, officers arrested five minors and one adult who were trying to break into the Stade de Geneve and a few drunken fights broke out through the night, local police said.

“Seven people were apprehended for drunk and disorderly behaviour,” they said, adding that the group spent four hours in a special detention centre set up for the tournament and were then released.